Tigers serve another reminder how NY Mets icon Carlos Beltran is an unfair scapegoat

Is there anyone who has been more unfairly blacklisted in baseball than Carlos Beltran? Hired to become the next New York Mets manager starting in 2020, a “mutual” parting of ways occurred as scandal broke out about his involvement with the 2017 Houston Astros.

Beltran hasn’t had a chance to manage again. Today, it was revealed how unjust he has been treated ever since.

Long before they made it to this year’s ALDS after nearly missing the playoffs altogether, the Detroit Tigers decided A.J. Hinch did enough in 2024 to justify a longer contract extension. Hinch has become one of those MLB skippers who feels like he could win a championship with more than one club. His first came while in charge of the Astros back in 2017 in a season that deserves an asterisk next to the championship banner. Hinch and Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora were each suspended for a year for their involvement. Both employed as managers today, Beltran remains the scapegoat who has yet to receive his redemption.

Carlos Beltran is still the only person to pay the consequence for their involvement in the 2017 Astros cheating scandal

Buzzers, trash cans, and perhaps more were at the center of the baseball world prior to the 2020 season. It was in mid-January when Beltran stepped down from his role as Mets manager to make room for Luis Rojas to take the job for the shortened 60-game season no one anticipated.

He was rehired by the Mets to work in the front office after the 2022 season, but hasn’t had a front-facing role. His latest title is “special assistant to the general manager” which sounds straight out of a paper company in Scranton.

Beltran remains a managerial candidate plenty of teams should want leading their team. Connected to seven different organizations from his playing career, he should always be on the list of candidates to take over a vacant gig. Instead, he remains in the shadows while the actual coaching staff from the 2017 Astros continue to manage.

No one said life was fair. Anyone who grew up watching Malcolm in the Middle knew that before the main credits finished. Fair or not, it’s a shame how Beltran remains the most involved to be reprimanded. General Manager Jeff Luhnow is out of baseball, but the ones in the dugout have been spared with one exception.

With a hot seat under him to begin next year, Beltran is an obvious candidate to replace Carlos Mendoza. Fans have already dreamed up the possibility of him becoming a bench coach or hitting coach for the club in 2026. If not here, it’s about time someone else offers him the work.